On Potions and Poisons
by groaar
Summary: Hibiki, a rather normal Slytherin, happens to make the mistake to pair up with Draco Malfoy in potions class. Draco, the infamous Slytherin, is immensely unpleased with this and immediately starts planning his revenge. However, to Draco's surprise, things do not work out quite as he thought they would. Draco x Male OC malexmale
1. Chapter 1

Oh yeah, I have uploaded this one before. However, I have made SOME changes to this story, such as the title (because I cannot remember the original title)… And yes, this story is malexmale, so if you don't like don't read.

I use this story mostly as a fill-in story while I think of something new to write about, because this is mostly something I write for my own entertainment.  
Personally I think there are so few Draco x Male OC fanfics out there, and my OC refused to leave my head, so yeah, why not make it a story?

I own none of the characters except for those who are mine (mostly my OC that is) the others are from the Harry Potter book series written by J.K. Rowling.  
This story is meant to take place after book 7. I have tried to follow the story in the books (ignoring the epilogue though), but it has been quite a long while since I read them, thus do expect some mistakes.

Warning: I am not a native English speaker, so mistakes in language use might occur throughout the text.

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A young man clutching a shovel tightly in his left hand stood close to the edge of the forbidden forest looking intently into its depths, what faced him there was a mass of trees and then complete darkness, even on a sunny day the sunbeams had no chance making it through the thick crowns of trees, and today was no sunny day. A cold breeze rustled the boy's ebony coloured hair and with one last glance into the forest he sighed and turned around to face away from whatever it was he had gazed upon earlier. Slowly he made his way towards Hagrid's little cottage, the boy didn't really feel like talking to anyone in particular at the moment, but he would still have to return the somewhat rusty square shovel to its rightful owner. When he had reached halfway to the cabin rain started to pour down from an ominous, dark sky.

The sound of rain pattering against the window pane made Hermione turn towards it, looking out over the greyish landscape around Hogwarts. It was getting quite late, but she did not regret her decision to leave her dorm in order to pay Hagrid a visit, because to be honest he didn't get so many of them these days as she, Harry and Ron were all quite busy at school. After the war she had not been sure of whether they would be able to finish school or not, and she had been pleasantly surprised when she had learned of the possibility to retake their seventh year, think of all the things she could have missed out on learning if this opportunity never had arisen. As she sat there gazing out of the window she smiled sadly to herself, thinking Hogwarts was not really what it used to be, still she was glad she could spend one more year here, a normal year. Her train of thought was abruptly broken when Hagrid placed an oversized cup of tea on the table in front of her, the cup was slightly chipped and quite miscoloured, however Hermione couldn't help but smile slightly at the fact that she would for once, in a long time, be able to enjoy a cup of tea with a friend without having to worry about if this moment would be her last or not. Hagrid, who had noticed Hermione staring out the window turned to gaze outside as well, and the sight made him sigh and tug at his black beard with the one of his hands not holding the big teacup, he looked just a tad worried. This fact didn't escape the keen eyes of Hermione, and she was just about to question whatever could be the matter, however the worried expression that had etched itself on her face turned into a one of puzzlement as Hagrid poured tea in yet another big cup and placed it upon the table.  
"I am expecting another student as well, I hope you too will get along, he's a good lad he is" he mumbled as he saw the look on the brunettes face.  
"Oh, I see" she replied silently contemplating over whom else than she and her friends would visit Hagrid, she sure had never seen anyone do that before.

The boy from the forest had hurried along as the rain started to fall, and soon he was at his professor's doorway, he had just lifted his hand up to knock when the door swung open and revealed the bearded half giant.  
"Tea?" the smiling giant greeted him beckoning him to come in. The dark-haired boy hesitated for a moment, he did most certainly not feel like tea, but he didn't want to disappoint Hagrid either, and after all, a big cup of tea might be soothing to his tense nerves. Today had been particularly demanding. He nodded and handed the shovel back to Hagrid, mumbling a thanks as he stepped past the big man into his cosy little cabin. His dark brown eyes widened a bit when he saw Hagrid was not going to be his only companion for tea, Hermione was here, too. Now the boy had never spoken to her personally, but they took the same advanced potions class, and all things considered there was no one at Hogwarts, and probably the whole wizard world, that didn't know who Miss Granger was. Therefore he found it somewhat ironic when she stretched out her hand, introducing herself. Nevertheless he took it and shook it firmly.  
"Hibiki" he said and proceeded to sit down on one of the empty seats at the table. Suddenly Hibiki could feel the weight of Hagrid's palm on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly.  
"Hermione, this is Hibiki, he might be a Slytherin but he is a great lad and he has a great hand with beast, top of my class" Hagrid stated beamingly and patted him on the shoulder. Hibiki smiled slightly, Slytherin or not, Hagrid had immediately taken a liking to him after he found out that Hibiki held a similar passion for beast as he eyed the Slytherin carefully, before deciding to trust Hagrid's judgement of the boy. If he seemed to think the Slytherin was fine, why shouldn't he be, she thought to herself trying not to be too told the two he would go out for a minute, he wanted to return the shovel to its right place. As soon as he stepped out the door the two students felt an awkward silence settle in the room, only the snores of a sleeping Fang interrupted the stifling atmosphere. Neither of the two knew what to talk about. A moment passed, and then Hermione's curiosity couldn't take it anymore, she asked what he had used the shovel for.  
"A burial" stated the boy and the brunettes eyes shot up wide, oblivious to the change in her expression the Slytherin continued drinking his tea. Carefully, afraid to seem too nosey, the girl questioned about what had happened. Calmly he explained he was just taking a last farewell of a friend he had known and cared for during many years, his trustworthy owl, Shiraha.  
"I'm sorry for your loss" said Hermione looking down into her tea mug, thinking of all she had lost during the war too.  
"I knew it was coming, he had been sick for quite a long time… It might seem as an insignificant death to you, considering the war and all, but…" he was interrupted by Hermione who grunted in a displeased manner, telling him that she was quite honest when she had given her condolences, no death was easy. The dark haired boy looked a little surprised, eyes resting upon the brunette.  
"I misjudged you and I'm sorry for that. Thank you" Hibiki then said in a calm voice, looking down on his hands that he was warming on the hot cup. Noticing the peculiar look the Gryffindor sent him he continued explaining.  
"I just expected you to be more…well I don't really know what I expected, nothing very positive though…" he laughed looking away in something akin to shame.  
"Why? Because I'm a Gryffindor?" Hermione snapped back at him, scolding herself over her temporary loss over her temper. The boy did not look upset though, he just calmly shook his head.  
"I'd be lying if I told you it had nothing to do with that fact, but mostly I thought people would generally not care for such a small loss when it is put into comparison with the war that took place only recently." The boy looked Hermione in the eye.  
"I find the house-system very insufficient and dissatisfactory to be honest, it just creates more conflicts than needed. Then again, maybe you shouldn't believe me, for all you know I could be lying just to get you on my side, I am a Slytherin after all" the boy smiled a bit sinisterly and brought the cup up to his mouth, the brunette silently contemplated what had been said.

Cold autumn air floated in to the room through the door as Hagrid walked back inside. He poured himself a cup of tea and joined the two others at the table. They talked briefly about school and homework, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening, the constant pattering of the rain providing an atmospheric ambience. After an hour or so the boy thanked for the tea, excused himself and rose from the table. His dark brown eyes reflected the exhaustion his body currently felt and this did not go past unnoticed by the ever observant brunette who offered to company him to the castle. The boy turned down her offer, smiling apologetically, he needed a moment alone. With a knowing, friendly smile on her face she nodded.

As soon as Hibiki had left Hagrid beamingly turned towards Hermione.  
"He's a nice kid, no?"  
"Yes, it had never occurred to me before though. There are quite few opportunities for Gryffindors to talk to Slytherins" she said thoughtfully, adding to herself that this might be due to the fact that they never tried.  
"Better late than never, eh?" the big man hummed as he cleared the cups away from the table. "He is a good boy, I am sure you two would get on well together. You would have lots to talk about, since he is almost as clever as a certain young witch I know" Hagrid said cheerfully as he opened the door to his cabin, it was growing dark outside. Getting the cue Hermione made her way towards the doorway, thinking about what the big man had said and added that the boy probably also shared Hagrid's unhealthy obsession of beasts. This comment earned her a scoff, but a friendly smile still spread itself over Hagrid's face.  
"Now hurry or it will get pitch black outside, I don't want you falling and hurting yourself" the half giant said. The brunette nodded, saying she would be careful. She thanked him for the tea and started jogging towards the school, waving goodbye to Hagrid at the same time. It sure had been an interesting evening.

The dungeons were always cold, no matter what the season, and Hibiki found them particularly unpleasant in the mornings. He walked through the corridors at a high speed, and after a short stop at the dining hall, he was off to the potions class. One of the classes he shared with Hermione. Approximately half of the class was there, not surprisingly Harry wasn't, and he would probably not be here until Hermione came, but some other people from all respective houses were present. To tell the truth the Asian boy hated the housing system, he didn't see the point with it, it only created unbridgeable gulfs between people, especially Gryffindors and Slytherins, not all of them, but most. He tried to stay clear of it, but even for him it was at times close to impossible. Grimacing slightly he slid into his normal seat and sat there, silently waiting for the lesson to begin. He wasn't really over yesterdays ordeal yet, he had known his owl was old and he had been sick for quite some time, but no matter how many times it would happen Hibiki was sure he never could get used to the sight of seeing and old friend alive one moment and gone the next. No matter how much he wanted they would never be able to meet again, death equalled emptiness.  
He was glad he had been able to get the burial out of the way soon though, because his mother had always told him that it was better to bury the dead as soon as possible, in order to grant their soul release. Creatures of the earth should be burned, their ash spread into the wind so their spirit would be able to roam the sky, while flying beings should be returned to the earth so they once again could walk upon it. But creatures of the sea, or those who lost their life in water, should always be returned there, if not the water might come back to claim their soul, and thus they would never be granted eternal peace. At least if he was to believe his mother, she had always been close to nature, and nature close to her, so Hibiki was sure she knew what she was talking about.

Before he knew it the door to the dungeon classroom swung open and the new potions teacher, Mrs. Gregoriana walked in through the door, distracting Hibiki from his thoughts, drawing his attention back to the present. A slightly surprised boy looked around for the earlier empty seats in the classroom, but they had all been filled, without him even noticing the missing students coming into the room. But then again, who could blame him, he had had other, for him more important things to think about.

A rather happy looking Mrs. Gregoriana took a quick look in her notes and started talking to the class about today's assignment.  
"Today" she started in a chirpy uplifting tone "we are going to start handling unusual potions, and as our stock of ingredients is not as big as it used to be I want you all to work in pairs for some time forth, you might even get to do an assignment together. Now split up, 10 seconds, I want all paired up by then without any complaints!" she finished of her statement gesticulating with her hands and urging everyone to get up and find a partner.

Hibiki had been taken by surprise, not really expecting a pair assignment he didn't know whom to pair up with. Well, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students were all most likely out of the question, they wouldn't want to work with a Slytherin. Among the Slytherins most already had someone to pair up with, but there was one boy who struck him as seemingly pair less, Draco Malfoy. Not only was he seemingly pair less, he was also good at Potions, and since Hibiki thought Potions to be an extremely important subject for his future plans, and considered himself quite talented, he didn't want to pair up with someone who didn't know what they were doing, which in his opinion was most of the class. Thus he headed for the guy with the platinum blond hair. He didn't bother asking for permission to sit down next to him, he just did, as no one else really seemed all too interested in working with this person he saw no problems with it. Only some years ago Hibiki was sure things would have been different, but the war had changed a lot, he supposed. Draco in his turn didn't say anything when the other boy sat down next to him either. Sure, Draco probably didn't want to work with him and he most likely held no particular interest in getting to know him, but the blond must have realized complaining would be futile. They had been assigned to work in pairs, and thus a hateful glance at the other Slytherin was the only sign of displeasure the infamous Slytherin let show. The dark haired boy did notice the blond didn't necessarily want him around, but as long as he didn't protest loudly to his presence he figured he could work together with the Malfoy boy, somehow.

Just as expected the making of the potion proceeded relatively smoothly, the pair hardly needed to talk, they simply observed what the other was doing and concentrated on the next step. The few times they actually did communicate it was with nothing but short words and phrases, only the uttermost necessities.  
Draco, who had been rather pleased with his partners knowledge in Potions, had so far had little to complain about, that was until he noticed that the other Slytherin was missing two fingers on his left hand. The blond had cringed visibly upon the sight, taking a step backwards in disgust. Draco was sure the boy next to him had noticed, which was perfectly fine, it spared him the trouble of dropping a nasty comment about it. It wasn't as if Draco hadn't seen the other boy before, they did share the same dormitory, but he had never paid him enough attention to notice this deformity. He shuddered every time he lay eyes upon it, which was every so often since the boy always used both hands when cutting ingredients. Disgusting! Draco almost, just almost, felt the need to throw up at the sight. The black haired young man couldn't help but notice the Malfoy boy's all but normal behaviour, and he had no doubts of what caused it, but he simply tried to ignore it best he could. The lack of his fingers was something he had come to terms with years ago, he still didn't like the fact and doubted he ever would, but he simply had realized he couldn't spend all his time brooding over it. However, it was people like the blond next to him who made this so much harder, he knew the fingers weren't there, so why couldn't these people realize he didn't need to be constantly reminded of this fact. He wanted to say something about this to the pale Slytherin, but he knew better than to do so, and simply continued working, his mind raging under the calm surface. He wouldn't normally be this emotional, but due to current circumstances… The death of his faithful owl had already thrown him off balance, his inner harmony was destroyed.

Never had Hibiki been so glad to hear one of the teachers announce that the class was almost at its end, and he was relieved he still had manage to brew an acceptable potion despite the chaos raging wildly inside his head.  
"In this room there are good pairs, and less good pairs, and pairs that are barely passable. Some have clearly been thinking of their grades and chosen pairs using their brains while others followed the heart" Mrs. Gregoriana's lively blue eyes swept over the horde of students as she talked. Clearing her throat she continued.  
"However, remember this, no matter how disappointed in your pair you might be the choice of partner was yours, and yours alone, and you will have to live with that decision until we have established a means of getting more ingredients to the school" She also reminded them of that she would grade them partially for individual achievements but mainly for their pair work, as this would be a big part of their potions classes to come.

Hibiki, while not exactly displeased with the situation, agreed on the point that he could have chosen a better partner. He did know about the Malfoy boys past, and had heard (and seen) what a git he could be, but somehow he had figured that being a Slytherin himself would spare him from these antics, a fact which had been proven wrong during one single lecture. So while he didn't really worry about the fact that they would be graded as a pair, he did mentally have to take a moment to steel himself in order to be able to work with this blond, bitter, extremely irritating boy. At least he could comfort himself with that Malfoy probably though the situation to be even worse than he did, a conclusion he had drawn based upon the fact that the boy had stormed out of the classroom seemingly fuming, muttering something about discussing this through with their professor. But even though Malfoy might be one of the Professors favourite students Hibiki doubted things would change, Draco's chances would be higher with him as a partner than most others, so if Professor Gregoriana wished him to get a good grade she wouldn't make any changes to the current situation. Hibiki was quite sure about that. After sitting in the same position for yet another couple of minutes Hibiki realized that if he didn't hurry he would be late for his next class, he was really not himself today.

Around lunchtime, even though the lectures up until then had been relatively problem-free, Hibiki felt he needed a break, and instead of having lunch he chose to go outside. He did not feel in the least bit hungry so he did not feel like eating, even though food would probably have been a great benefactor for his body that still screamed of tiredness. At some point he was actually thinking about taking the rest of the day off, because he felt like he didn't even have strength enough to finish one single more lecture.  
Sitting outside on the ground, pondering upon whether to go or not to go to the next of his lectures, the playful autumn wind started tugging slightly at his black hair, providing some refreshment. Hibiki wished the wind would take all of his sorrow with it and blow it away to some distant place, unheard of by humans. But of course that was not the case, and that might even be for the better, because misery and sorrow was something he as a human had to pull through by himself, otherwise life would be too simple. This was at least what Hibiki figured when he sighing pushed himself up from the ground, groaning when he realized how stiff his legs had gotten from sitting for too long a time on cold and slightly damp grass. It was not without considerable effort that he managed to make his way towards the greenhouses.

All day the dark haired boy had been besieged by feelings of hopelessness and the wish to not be surrounded by people, and these feelings followed him throughout the day. It was because of this very reason Hibiki didn't go back to the Slytherin common rooms until late in the evening, long after dinner, when he reluctantly shuffled over there. Already before stepping in through the portrait he could hear the vivacity on the other side. He decided then and there to directly go to the dormitories. Not even bothering to return some of the greetings he received upon stepping into the common room, he literally rushed through it, unable to relax before he was away from the big, loud crowd.

Exhausted from his sort, but fast, sprint the boy pushed the heavy, wooden door open. At last, his sanctuary, or so Hibiki thought at least not knowing how wrong things could go.  
"Oh well, look what the cat dragged in" Draco drawlingly greeted him from the other side of the dorm, his words immediately catching the other boy's attention. Hibiki snapped his head upwards and found himself staring right into the steel gray eyes of the blond boy. Attacked by an angry blond before even having been able to get into the dormitory properly, Hibiki cursed his luck. Adding to this the blond was looking possibly even more pissed than he had had at the end of the Potions class.  
"Do you actually want something, or is your sole purpose insulting me?" Hibiki asked, trying to keep his calm. He was tired, both mentally and physically, he didn't feel like arguing, but if the cheeky boy wouldn't let him go to sleep in peace he didn't know what other options he had. The blond snorted, starting to go on about Hibiki's actions in today's Potions class, how he was to blame for them ending up as a pair, and a lot of other things the dark haired boy didn't even bother to listen to, there just seemed to be no end to it. Hibiki finally grew tired of learning the art of sleeping standing upright, and gently interrupted the boy.  
"I understand what you are trying to say, but I really don't care… if you can find another person willing to work with you, you have my permission to change partner or whatever it is you want. However, as you will most likely continue whining about this very same thing tomorrow I'd rather listen to it then, I am just too tired now. Goodnight" Hibiki took a deep breath and headed straight for his bed, determined not to listen to another thing that left the blonds lips. He wanted to sleep, and not even an extremely annoying Malfoy could keep him from that pleasure, which didn't mean he did not try though. Even so, Hibiki had soon enough fallen asleep, still fully clothed and on the top of his covers, but at least he was asleep.

Draco simply couldn't believe it, he was furious with the other boy, how could he be so blunt towards him? He was also angry with Professor Gregoriana for not letting him change partners. The damned woman had said his reasons hadn't been sufficient enough, like that old hag knew anything about sufficient reasons. It was in moments like these he missed Snape. At the thought of his old professor the blond could feel a blunt, but ever so persistent, pain inside him flare up again. It was the pain originating from an emotional wound, caused by the war, which had yet to heal properly. He could feel his levels of anger stabilize. Actually, no matter how much he wanted to deny it, Draco was well aware of that he would most likely not be able to find anyone else to pair up with even if he got the permission to change partners. Houses that weren't Slytherin were out of the question and the other students were already in pairs, there was no other choice but the stupid, fingerless boy. Thus, he decided, he would make this a living hell for the boy; only because he had come to sit next to Draco, because it had been he who had kept others from pairing up with Draco.  
In reality, no one probably would have paired up with Draco even if they would have had the opportunity to do so, but this was something Draco was too proud to admit, even to himself.

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Thank you for reading, and please leave a comment if you feel like it, they are of great value to me.

I don't know if there are other fans of Draco x Male OC out there, but if I even manage to make one single person happy by writing this fic, I would be absolutely delighted!

So, this is the end of chapter one. I do have chapter two almost ready and might upload it soon if someone is interested (if not I will upload it anyway, it will probably only take one million years before I get around doing so)…


	2. Chapter 2

I have submitted chapter number 2, finally! I am sorry for the wait.  
I was going to publish it a lot sooner, but unexpected things happened.

I like DracoxMale OC fics, that's why I am writing one, hope someone will like it!  
I apologize beforehand if you find it confusing, as I have not indicated when I switch character point of view.

Characters belong to J.K. Rowling (except for the OC, he's all mine).  
So, here is chapter 2, please feel free to R&R!

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Hibiki slowly opened his eyes but this didn't make much of a difference to what he saw, the room was still completely embedded in darkness, probably due to the fact that the room lacked windows. The boy decided to get up, he was not tired. It might be early, but an early start meant that he had a long day in front of him and lots of time to do…. stuff. He silently hopped of his bed wondering whatever had provided him with such an energy boost this morning, not that it did matter but one could always ponder upon unnecessary matters, just for the sheer fun of it. He padded across the floor of the quiet sleeping chambers, silently as to not wake the other boys who were all still comfortably tucked in under their green beddings.  
In the common room there was some motion despite the morning having barley started. A couple of students who had pulled all-nighters were tiredly rubbing their red eyes, while others were getting ready for morning activities and whatnot. The activity levels were very low though, compared to what they would be in a couple of hours. Hibiki quickly crossed the room without speaking a word to any of its current residents, not that he normally would do that anyway he thought as he jumped out the portrait hole. Then it struck him, the reason to why he must have been such an early bird this morning, it must have been because he subconsciously wanted to avoid Malfoy. Smiling he headed for the library, his ears were, at least temporarily, spared from a certain angry rant.

Hibiki hurriedly made his way up from the dungeons, not because he disliked them, but they were not exactly anything one would categorize as interesting either. After the short walk he entered the Entrance Hall and was just about to head up towards the library, thinking he could do some research on some unusual potions, but changing his mind he decided to aim for the Great Hall instead. Hibiki peaked in through the big doors and to his delight he found the dining area nearly empty, Hibiki had never been one for crowds and he reckoned it would take quite some time before he would be able to enjoy a breakfast this silent and peaceful again. Thus he swiftly steered his steps towards the Slytherin table, only to be interrupted in his doings by a bright, happy female voice coming from somewhere behind him.  
He spun around, only to see the person whom he already suspected to be there.  
"Hermione, isn't that right?" he said, thankful for his ability to memorize names, as if it was important in this case. He received a smile as an answer, as well as an invitation to join the brunette at her table for breakfast. Hibiki combed through his black locks with one of his hands while considering whether or not to accept the invitation. He studied the brunette's face for a moment, but she seemed earnest enough. He had quite a hard time believing that she would do this out of malice, or something, so after a moment of hesitation he decided to follow her to the Gryffindor table. No matter how much he disliked the housing system, he thought to himself, not even he could escape the effects it had on people, therefore the unnecessary suspicions.

"I've always wondered if I would be served breakfast If not sitting at the Slytherin table, but apparently I don't have to fear starving" the boy said as he sat down opposite to the smiling girl, grabbing a piece of toast.  
"Hmm, that thought had never crossed my mind, but now when you say it… It wouldn't actually be too hard to conjure such magic that people from specific houses could only dine at tables specifically appointed for them" Hermione mused while pouring come cereal into a shiny, white bowl. Chuckling Hibiki shook his head, telling Hermione that this was by no means necessary though. Munching on a spoonful of cereal she nodded in agreement.  
"It's unusual though, that people eat at other tables than their own." She mused tilting her head to the side. Suddenly her eyes grew double the size to what they had been moments ago causing the boy sitting across to her eye her questioningly.  
"Do you think it is even allowed" she breathed in a low voice looking anxiously around her from side to side to see if they had been spotted. Hibiki could not help but smile at the girl. If the rumours were to be believed this girl had been through a lot, and thus the boy could not help but to find it rather amusing that such a trivial thing as this one would set her off. The brunette did not look as amused though, her face twisted into a rather worried and hurt expression, her lips slightly pouting.  
"Don't worry, I doubt it is forbidden" said the boy convincingly, calming the girl down somewhat, however she did not look completely at ease yet so Hibiki continued.  
"And even if it would turn out to be so, you don't have to worry. I am the bad guy, I can always say I forced you to let me sit here. I don't think anyone would doubt me" he said sniggering, still, he didn't manage to hide the seriousness in his eyes. Hermione looked rather horrified and scoffed she would never make him do such a thing.  
"I know" said Hibiki "I was mostly joking, mostly…" the boy's voice trailed off as he turned his head to look over to the far corner of the Gryffindor table where a couple of students were talking and pointing in their direction. He quickly directed his eyes to his toast again, nibbling it rather uninterested. All at once Hermione realized that the comment had not been aimed directly at her but at the situation as a whole.  
"You shouldn't mind them… People are quite ignorant, segregate…" mumbled the girl, starting to realize the actual size of the gap between the two houses, and for the first time she could recall she felt a bit ashamed of hers. Informing Hibiki of this fact the raven was quick to convince her of that his house would be a million times worse, still she could detect a faint glow of gratefulness in the dark brown eyes of the Slytherin boy. However, as the two managed to leave such worldly problems behind the conversation soon shifted ground to astronomy, a subject the two discussed for the better part of the morning.

So caught up in their own Hermione and Hibiki did not even notice a small group of people approaching the Gryffindor table, not before their conversation was interrupted, that is.  
"Hermione, what are you doing?" cried a distressed voice from not far away. The girl, surprised, turned her head making her brown curly hair swivel behind her.  
"Ron…" she sighed, this could not end well. Her brown eyes looked anxiously from the boy in front of her to the trio approaching. It was Ron, Harry and Ginny. The male redhead hurried his steps and was by his girlfriend's side in no time, staring viciously at the Slytherin.  
"Why… why are you talking to HIM?" he said to the girl in a gruff voice but before Hermione could answer Hibiki did so for her, not all too happy about the turn the situation had taken.  
"Look Hermione, it was nice talking to you but I am not putting up with explaining why I am qualified enough to have a discussion with you. I have dedicated this morning to avoid certain idiots from my own house and I am not going to have it ruined by some from yours, I hope you understand" he stated, his tone of voice as cold as ice. The brunette nodded her head in understanding and apologized on the behalves of Ron, the latter was about to protest but wisely stayed silent as he saw the glares his girlfriend directed at him. As Hibiki made his way out from the Great Hall he could hear Hermione shout to him not to forget what he promised to show her in the Astronomy Tower, he smiled and without looking back he raised his hand in a salute. His smile turned into a smirk when he could hear the panicky voice of a certain redhead, a redhead much in distress of what it was the Slytherin had promised to show his beloved.

Back at the Gryffindor table a certain brunette was still glaring with dissatisfaction at a certain redhead who stared just as moodily back at her. This went on until the girl violently shook her head and bit down on a piece of toast she hadn't yet finished. It had gone cold.  
"What? It was just some stupid Slytherin…" muttered Ron to Hermione, and then he turned over to Harry and Ginny to see if the two wouldn't back him up. Harry nodded, but said nothing, proceeding to sit down where the other black haired boy just had been seated. Ginny made a face at her brother, and joined Hermione by her side.  
"You know, I think Luna knows him" she said to a bitter Hermione, making the brunette look at her in sheer surprise.  
"Luna… Luna Lovegood…?" Hermione asked in a voice clearly tinted with disbelief. Ginny nodded and started to tell Hermione what she had heard from Luna about the guy.  
"It seems like they take the same class in Care of Magical Creatures" she said while fingering her red curls "she told me she found him intriguing because he was similar to her on some points such as…" Ginny let the rest of the sentence slip into silence, not sure exactly what points Luna had been talking about, and this was all she could tell the brunette when she in turned inquired about the same thing.  
"Luna talked so much and I might not have been the best of listeners" the redhead excused herself. Hermione, while still slightly disappointed in the fact that the other girl hadn't been able to tell her more, could not blame Ginny as Hermione herself also found it rather tiring to listen to all the loony tales of the blond girl. That was the thing with Luna, she spread so much weirdness around that the important things disappeared into it.  
"He is nice" the brunette said rising from the table, thus bringing the conversation to an end. Ron, hearing his girlfriend's statement almost chocked on the piece of jammy toast he was currently chewing on. Hurriedly he swallowed the rest of his sweet, sticky breakfast and pushed himself away from the wooden table in order to run after Hermione who was already heading out from the hall. He shouted to the two left at the tables that they needn't worry because he would, as he put it, try to talk some sense into Hermione.

A blond head stirred among its green bedding and very slowly a pale boy yawning and stretching emerged from deep under the covers. The boy shivered slightly and pulling the cover tightly around himself he proceeded to step down onto the chilly stone floor. His bare feet did not find the sensation of cold, smooth stone under them all too pleasant. He crinkled his blond eyebrows and the pale features on his face formed a solid frown, Draco was in a foul mood this morning. This was indeed the case most mornings, but he felt that today was worse than usually and he had no doubts as to why. He blamed one person, and only one, that moronic pair of his. Grey eyes scanned the room but he could not spot said person anywhere, as a matter of fact all beds in the room were already empty. A bit flustered Draco glanced at the clock, and upon realizing that his classes would start in 20 minutes his scowl deepened. Just what he needed, now he would need to skip breakfast. Well, at least Draco had had some time to ponder upon things during the night, and things in this case were how to carry out his revenge. However to his displeasure a multitude of obstacles had presented themselves as he had given his revenge more thought.

Dragging the greenish cover around with him the slender, almost too thin, boy walked around to the foot end of his bed, looking for clothes to wear for the day. Grey eyes franticly searching for something decent to wear his mind reviewed the problems he had encountered during the process of developing his plan.  
The biggest, and most urgent, problem was the sole fact that he did not know the boy, his pair, in the slightest. Thus he had no idea what buttons to push in order to wind his partner up, nor did he know what weaknesses the black haired boy had. Shuddering Draco recalled the deformity of the boy and was immediately able to think of a multitude of poisonous remarks on this. However, this alone would be nowhere near enough. At once Draco realized that he was stuck in quite a problematic situation, not sure what tactic he best apply in order to go through with as successful a revenge as possible. A fake truce might be a good option as this would provide him with some information about the boy, but this would seem extremely suspicious when putting it into comparison with his behaviour yesterday. Thus this alternative was out of the question for now.  
The blond boy let the cover drop to the floor as he thought, dressing himself in a green sweater and plain black trousers. Throwing the trademark Slytherin house cape over his shoulders he mused that the best option for now might be to only sit tight and observe how things would proceed. Draco did not like biding his time for all too long, but unable to make a definite decision on how to proceed he felt waiting for a push in some direction would be the best option. Draco's intuition had not been wrong as he a couple of weeks later, in yet another potions class, received the cue he had been waiting for since he first had encountered his shitty partner.

"Now students, as this will be your last year and so your last chance to snap up new knowledge about potions I have decided to assign you all a special assignment, this on top of what we are doing in class" chirped Mrs. Gregoriana one early morning in potions class. A distinct wave of moaning and groaning followed her statement and the students were not late in expressing their displeasure. The old lady was quick to reprimand them though.  
"Now, you don't even know what the assignment is and you are already complaining loudly… Consider this a chance to learn something new, because you will have to be creative. Improvisation, students, that is not something you learn in a classroom" she beam with confidence and passions. As the wave of complaints faded away she moved on to the assignment itself.  
Each pair was to be assigned a poison, an advanced poison with no known antidote. Now, she informed them, their task was not only to make the actual poison but to give creating the antidote a try as well.  
"I know it is not an easy task, and the chances for success are in most cases nonexistent, but this is a challenge you might be faced with upon graduating school, so I want you to be prepared. A good attempt or a solution that theoretically could have proven to be correct might also receive full points, as long as you manage the brewing of your poisonous potion correctly, that is" she paused, taking a break in order to enjoy the look of sheer horror plastered upon the faces' of her students. She pulled her greying hair tighter into a ponytail and braced herself for further protests from the students. As she had suspected, various complaints were raised by her class, mostly in consideration to all the extra time it would take for them to complete such a demanding task, and some tried to remind the Professor of that they did take other classes than potions as well, but the grim face she wore as well as her spot-on counterargument knocked them all down.  
"You have all made a conscious choice to take classes in Advanced Potions and this is what I expect of my students. Anyone who has further complaints can complain, in private. Either you complete my class under my directive and my conditions, or then you do not complete it at all, the choice is yours" her sharp voice shuttered any further attempt to grievance from the students. The woman, rather pleased with herself, smiled. Pitiable, poor souls, they had only heard half of it yet. Calmly the woman continued, now having the full attention of the class who finally had understood there was no possible way of squirming out of this situation. Mrs. Gregoriana cleared her throat.  
"I want to make this assignment as similar to a real-life situation as possible, so there are certain rules I expect you to heed to. First and foremost you will have to provide your own ingredients for both the poison and the antidote. Partly because the school does not have an abundance of ingredients in stock, partly because these will not necessarily be provided for you in the future. You will have to learn that skills in other areas can, and should, be utilized whenever possible" when she reached the end of her sentence the classroom anew broke out into a chorus of complaints, agitated voices debated and questioned matters such as money and the funding of this assignment. The woman standing in front of the class held up her hand in order to silence the masses, a pale hand was all it took.  
"Now, I do not expect you to fund everything yourselves, I will provide each one of you with a budget, the same one for everyone. In order to retrieve ingredients you may use whatever means you want, as long as they stay legal, you may even ask me. However, you all should be aware that if you do not provide a valid reason to why you should have a certain ingredient, for free, this might cause you to lose points in your final grade" the woman swept some gray hair out of her face and then turned to the board in order to write the instructions down giving the students a chance to absorb all she had just said. After a silence that had lasted about five minutes she decided it was time to deliver the last blow, she was guessing some students were already expecting what was to come, but she wanted to make it clear to everyone.  
"Obviously you will carry this assignment out in your assigned pairs. You needn't love your lab partners in the future, but you will simply have to pull through your task anyway. See this assignment as something special that will prepare you for the future" smiling Mrs. Gregoriana informed the class that they would receive their respective poisons at the end of class.

A sense of discomfort spread through the classroom while Mrs. Gregoriana moved on to explain today's potion. Students seemed to wring in their seat, squirming, not knowing what to do with themselves. Hibiki glanced at Malfoy from under his black fringed, the blond seemed unfazed. Apart from the occasional snide remark Draco had not said much to Hibiki since his last rant, not positive nor negative, a fact that slightly puzzled the black haired Slythierin as he knew how bitter the blond had been. Whether he should consider the lack of speech a good thing the raven haired could not yet tell, but as most things said about Malfoy were not particularly positive he had his doubts. Without exchanging a single word the two set about brewing today's potion. As usual the brewing process turned out to be fairly problem free, actually the blond seemed more at ease today than he had previously, his slender pale hands working fast on the bench next to Hibiki's. The blond even answered the other boy's questions properly, not simply grunting in a moody manner which usually was the way he chose to respond. Not that the two communicated much despite of this, but Hibiki was surely thrown off by this new, for the blond peculiar, behaviour. However, he decided against mentioning the matter as he figured he had better enjoy the peace when he had the opportunity to do so. Little did he suspect that it actually was the news about the pair work that had turned Draco's mood up a notch, it had been exactly the kind of breakthrough the blond needed in order to approach his pair without it seeming suspicious. All because of malice off course, so he finally could have his revenge.

Another successful potions class in the bag and it was time for Mrs. Gregoriana to assign each pair a potion, the old fashioned way. No one got to choose, but the poisons were assigned randomly through the drawing of lots. The poison the two Slytherin boys got was a rather unknown one called "Baneberry Potion". After having scribbled the name down among his other notes the blond stalked out of the room, Hibiki's eyes followed him reluctantly. The blond boy with the foul temper had exchanged no ideas or thoughts on the project with Hibiki, thus leaving the black haired seemingly lost at how to best proceed from this point onward. Sighing angrily Hibiki glanced at the other pairs in the classroom, most of them had stayed behind in order to discuss the matter at hand but not his pair, no. But then again he had not really expected the blond to stay behind, but it would have made matters a lot simpler. Thoughts similar to this one rummaging through his head Hibiki chose to follow the example of his partner and discreetly swooped out of the underground classroom.

Draco could almost not contain himself, and was eager to put his plan into action. However, past experience had thought him it was better to proceed slowly, and a complete three-sixty in class could hardly be considered a slow progress, thus he chose to remain patient. Not until tomorrow would he place his first move. His plan was simple, first he would take steps to befriend his enemy, a matter which in itself could turn out to be complicated if things chose not to work out as planned. After approaching the imbecile of a partner he possessed he would conjure a lot of… problematic situations for Hibiki, and off course Draco would be supportive and take no blame in the things happening. This step could also be seen as part of the "befriendment" process. The goal the blond had set out for himself was to in some manner humiliate his pair in public, a best case scenario would be actually being able to get to such a personal level with the raven haired that Draco would have an opportunity to pick up weaknesses or secrets to use against the boy, if not, well he had a few good ideas cooking. Having made all necessary preparations for the following day the blond, for the first time in a long while, fell asleep early and on top of this with a smile breaching his pale, dry lips.

The following morning the blond had made sure he would be up before his partner, and this meant being up quite early, he knew this as he had spent the past few weeks closely observing the other boy's habits. To be on the safe side the blond had risen before the sun got up, around five thirtyish in the air was freezing and Draco would rather not have exposed even the smallest part of uncovered skin to it, but determined as he was to carry out his plan he forced himself out of bed and quickly got dressed. When having put on his outfit, one he had prepared already last evening, he slid back in under the covers, like a beast lying in wait for its pray he was now waiting for the black haired boy to stir. Around seven o'clock Hibiki seemed to slowly wake up, and in a matter of minutes he was out of the room. Draco giddily walked after him, having nearly missed the whole ordeal as he had made the mistake to shut his eyes and had thus fallen into a light slumber for a moment or two. The dormitory lay in complete silence for a minute until a slightly less giddy Draco walked back into the room, and before storming out again he grabbed a huge book with a leather cover, one he had borrowed from the library yesterday. The blond reprimanded himself as he walked through the corridors towards the library, without this book all the waiting and effort would have been in vain. The blond knew for a fact that the boy had showered yesterday, thus he was quite sure he was headed for breakfast in the Great Hall, then for his usual one hour of studying in the library. This was where the grey eyed planned to strike.  
As the blond did not want to seem all too suspicious he decided to skip his breakfast in order to be able to seat himself in the library before the arrival of the other, however no matter how many times he tried to tell his rumbling stomach that sneaking around the black haired boy all morning would be far too risky, and that one breakfast was not too high a sacrifice, it would not quieten down.

It took the blond only about five minutes to reach the library, as he had been able to run quickly through the corridors, yet to be filled with students, and now he stood ambushed in a spot close to the main entrance of the library, the entrance the raven haired kid seemed to prefer.  
Patience was not a gift Draco had been born with, a fact he found most regretful, as he had had no other choice than to learn the skill than through years of practice. It had come the hard way, and he had not truly mastered the skill before in his sixth year, and even then he had been too hasty. These days he often found himself wishing he had been either more determined, more courageous, or more… anything that one day, because then things might have turned out different for a great deal of people. But, as time travel was not a means he could use to correct the past he could do no more than to think back at the incident with regret and detestation.

So caught up dwelling on the past the blond nearly missed his pray for the second time today, and as losing sight of the other boy in the library could turn into quite a hassle Draco stayed within reasonable distance, not that he couldn't guess to what section the raven haired one was heading, potions. Silently snickering the blonde followed the dark haired boy and his grin only grew wider upon them reaching the section of the library that contained all the material on potions.  
"Jackpot" the blond gloated on the inside, this for two reasons. Firstly it was out of smugness in the fact that he had been correct regarding the boy's whereabouts, secondly because this was the section of the library where a chance meeting might actually seem like a purely accidental meeting, not a rigged one as it in fact was. The boy glanced at the clock, and realizing lectures would not start for another two hour he decided to wait another 10 minutes before making an actual move.

"Looking for this" Draco said in a draggy voice holding up the dusty old book he had picked up at the library the day before. Completely absorbed in his search for a copy of "The Complete Catalogue of Usual and Unusual Poisons" it took Hibiki quite a few moments to realize the voice behind him had actually been directed at him. Taking a quick look around the room in order to ensure there were no other possible addressees present he warily turned his head around, brown eyes instantly locking with steel grey ones. Hibiki grew rather sceptic the second he laid eyes upon the blond and he had to make an effort to stop himself from groaning in disappointment when he let his eyes sweep down to the book the pale hands were holding. It was, not very surprisingly, the very book Hibiki had spent a good 15 minutes looking for.  
"Yeah, that's the one" he mumbled leerily, not too pleased with the unexpected turn of events.

* * *

Soo, what is the meaning of this? And where will Draco's (un)expected actions lead?  
We might find out in chapter 3!

Writing chapter 2 was fun, editing chapter 2 was a nightmare. Not being a native speaker of English I have to reread my story uncountable times (and I still find mistakes). That is what takes most time, a lot more than writing the actual story. But oh well…

I hope you enjoyed reading, please leave a comment if you feel like it, it also helps me in my writing.

Sadly chapter 3 won't be up until I have time to write more. I have lots of things to prepare for school, such as my thesis and stuff …  
However, I promise there will be a chapter 3 soon enough!


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